Quay, Italian City
This charming harbor and market scene appears to show 17th century Dutch ships in an Italian harbor, and was likely produced by a follower of renowned French artist Claude Lorrain. The painting it is not an exact copy after any known work, but features elements found in various Claude harbor scenes. Though the early history of this work remains undocumented, it may have been owned by George Washington. Washington had acquired a landscape after Claude for Mount Vernon as early as 1758, and he acquired a number of prints after the artist in the late 1790s.
The market scene is lively, with fourteen distinct arrangements of figures on shore and in rowing vessels. Among them are men, women, and children, in a range of antiquated costumes and hats, with a prominent use of red in costume details. The figures are presented dynamically, gesturing toward or interacting with each other, and/or transferring parcels ashore. Some figures are barely discernible due to losses and craquelure. Notable figures include a seemingly regal pair on the staircase landing, between two urns that adorn the bas relief carved staircase. The gentleman is attired in a long red cape and an elaborate white and gold headdress, and they are followed by a smaller companion, perhaps a child, with a dark complexion. At the bow of the foreground rowboat, a man appears to be either trumpeting or unfurling a red flag, perhaps communicating with the larger ship behind.
A figure carrying a blue sack is presented at the proper right corner of the building façade, while another dressed entirely in black stands in front of the building’s doorway. Three dogs (two white, and one gray) are shown in the foreground.
At proper left, the earth colored buildings frame the line of the harbor, and two chimneys rise from each of the tower buildings. Four cypress trees and other green foliage delineate tiered palace or garden walls; other low shrubs or foliage in the same tones appear in the central foreground. The water is also green, in a similar shade to the cypress and other foliation. The sky is light blue with cream colored clouds, tinged pink.
The work was framed in the present 19th century gilt wood frame in 1957.
Published ReferencesHumphrey Wine, Claude, the Poetric Landscape (London: National Gallery Publications, 1994). (General Reference)
Elizabeth Wheeler Manwaring, Italian Landscape in Eighteenth Century England (New York: Russell & Russell, 1965). (General Reference)
Marcel Roethlisberger, Claude Lorrain, The Paintings (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1961). (General Reference)